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Apple's colorful iPhones draw tech celebrities

Scott Martin, USA TODAY
12:18 a.m. EDT September 11, 2013

Apple CEO Tim Cook speaks about the new iPhones during an Apple product presentation at the Apple campus in Cupertino. The company launched two new iPhone models, the 5C and 5S. The 5C has a polycarbonate body and comes in five colors while the 5S comes in three colors, features a fingerprint sensor, has an upgraded camera, and contains an advanced A7 chip.(Photo: Justin Sullivan, Getty Images)

Apple's most significant iPhone event since its historic launch in 2007 drew tech's royalty to its headquarters on Tuesday.

Gadget maker Apple — under siege by an army of Android phones — unleashed its next-generation iPhone 5s and a new iPhone 5c in a rainbow of colors. Apple's anticipated double-themed approach was enough to draw more than the passing curiosity of the press.

Tech celebrities including Marissa Mayer, Jack Dorsey and former Vice President Al Gore were in the packed crowd at Apple's headquarters.

Yahoo CEO Mayer last year notoriously removed BlackBerry devices from Yahoo's ranks in favor of smartphones from Apple. Mayer told USA TODAY the fingerprint ID technology was the coolest new trick on the phone.

Square and Twitter founder Dorsey is often lauded for his Apple-like focus on products and is an avowed Apple fan.

Gore sits on Apple's board of directors. This year, he upped his entrepreneurial cachet with the $500 million sale of Current TV to Al Jazeera Satellite Network. He helped start Current TV in 2004 and is reported to have bagged $70 million from the exit.

Apple's new colorful iPhone 5c will cost $99 for a 16GB version and $199 for a 32GB model with a wireless service contract. The plastic phones will come in pink, green, white, blue and yellow. The iPhone 5s prices will run $199 for a 16GB model, $299 for a 32GB and $399 for a 64GB one. All those prices require a two-year contract.

Despite the tech glitterati of interest, Apple's first wave of such dual offerings did little to move its stock.

Shares of Apple fell 2.3% at $494.64 in closing trading following the news.